It's about time I start updating you on the progress of my camper! If you recall in my intro post I mentioned that I chose this camper because it did not need to be gutted or have major work done to it. By major I mean ripping anything out or rebuilding any of it. It will, however, receive MAJOR cosmetic updating. MAJOR. As in this will be unrecognizable as the original camper soon.

Apologies for the crappy iPhone pics. I wasn't about to take the fancy camera to the camper with paint covered hands.

The first thing I did was attack this thing with a coat of paint. After being totally bummed about spending hours upon hours of gutting my last camper, I was determined to get something changed on this thing right away. I started painting immediately. It was important (FOR ME) that I felt like progress was happening right away. I didn't want this camper to turn out like the last one where I clear it all out and then quit. I probably should have prepped the walls more by sanding them a bit. I probably should have also used an oil based paint or something a little more suitable for paneling than just a paint and primer combo. BUT OH WELL. It's just paint and it can be touched up.

Already the thing feels bigger and cleaner. The ceiling feels higher. The space feels wider. The place feels....BORING.

About this time I would typically start freaking out thinking OMG this white is too much white. It's so boring! I have done enough white walls now though to know to keep moving forward. The details I will be adding will fill in the space visually. These plain boring white walls will act as a nice backdrop to the other fun things I have planned for this space.

In fact, I have some CRAZY things planned for this camper. I feel like since this is mine and because it is a recreation vehicle, I can let loose a A LOT. The conversations I've been having with my friends and family about this camper reno have been pretty comical. I text them saying, "Hey what do to you think about doing THIS for a backsplash?" and their response is like, "ummmmm seriously? No." You see they are thinking about this in a sensible, let's make this space beautiful kind of way where as I am full on LET'S BUST OUT SOME CRAZY SHIT UP IN HERE mode.

This is a place to experiment.

I'm doing A TON of experimenting on this camper. I'm going to try some things I couldn't likely get away with in a flip house. So, here we go with some seriously weird stuff and not just in the decor department.

I am mixing super fun patterns and finishes. I'm going WILD just for the fun of it. This isn't a house, it's a fun vacation vehicle. I'm treating it as such.

I'm doing a majority of the renovations on this camper BY MYSELF. I haven't done much in the way of DIY projects in a very long time and I like the idea of making this thing newer with my own two hands. My husband has his own business to run so pulling him away from it to work on the camper with me doesn't make sense financially. There is one project I'll need his help on so he's in on that. Otherwise I'm on my own. I've actually turned down some offers to help me just because I'm stubborn that way. I'm committed to solitude.

2. I don't have many tools at my disposal. I do have a saw and sander, but you see, my camper is at a storage lot so I can't plug anything in there. I'm doing most of the projects that require power tools at home. Otherwise, I'm trying to find ways to get things done with out a bunch of fancy tools, expense or even electricity.

I'm putting these restrictions on myself in order to foster more creativity. Some of it, like the need for power tools, can be beaten by simply moving the camper to somewhere where I can use electric. I'm pretty stuck to my restrictions, though. When you're forced to stay within certain constraints, you can come up with some pretty interesting ideas. I'll be thinking pretty far outside the box in some cases. It's honestly keeping me up at night as I ride this freight train from one idea to the next. SO MANY IDEAS. Last night I was borderline having nightmares in a haze of half consciously hashing out backsplash ideas. The only thing that kept the constant swirling of ideas from being a nightmare is that it was about backsplashes and thus cannot be anything but a dream.

So, I hope this creativity ride will be as fun for you as it has been for me so far. I'll try to share each project and the thought process behind it. It won't always make sense, but that's ok. Sometimes I like to do things just because. It's fun to see where it takes me.

And a renovation cannot be complete without a before and after (middle?) pic so here is the space since painting everything white.

Coming up next will be the stove which has been painted, as well as the banquette table project I completed. Stay tuned!